Light shines brighter in the dark
by Helen Nurse
Summary: At nineteen years old, Joanna Hailey Wilkes hates the cards she'd been dealt. Alone in the world, she works for a man she hates, trying to find his objective. What happens when she meets the man she's meant to find and he helps her find her father?
1. Employment

"Who... Who are you?" I asked, terrified of what he'd say next.

"I'm Jim Moriarty, and you are going to help me find and break Sherlock Holmes."


	2. Lost

I walked down the dirty, dark street in silence. My employer James Moriarty dropped me off in the middle of a city I've never been to as a test. If I can make it here for a month without dying, he'll give me my mission. If I die, then it's no loss to him. It's been two weeks and I will probably die from hunger and cold before too much longer.

I hardly noticed where I was going, but I turned the corner and found myself on a street filed with little shops. I walked and looked into the window of a sandwich shop, and saw two men sitting in the booth nearest to the window. The tall, dark-haired one had hardly touched his meal, while the short, greyish blond one just finished his sandwich. I stood there for a moment watching all of them eat. So lucky to have money for food, they were. But I didn't envy them even for a moment, because I'd been the same way before Moriarty dropped me in this hell hole of a city. I was so lost in thought I didn't notice that they'd left their table until I felt a hand on my shoulder.

I turned around to see the short man looking at me with a kind look in his eyes "Are you alright?" he had an interesting accent. I thought it was British, but I wasn't sure.

I shook my head "I'm ok." I started to walk away but my legs buckled and before I blacked out I managed to say one word "Damn."


	3. In the Hospital

**John's POV:**

When she turned away and fell, I was surprised to see Sherlock catch her. When he picked her up with very little effort, I knew that there was something wrong with her.

"John, call the hospital. This girl needs medical attention."

I pulled out my mobile and called for an ambulance. I turned to Sherlock and said "Let me look at her." When I checked her vitals, I could barely feel the flutter of her pulse. I only hoped that she'd recover soon. "What do you think of her?"

Sherlock told me his deductions "She's young, still a teen. American. Northern Californian, I think. She's been out in the elements with no shelter and very little food for one, possibly two weeks. Malnourished, and disoriented."

"Should I call Lestrade, see if there's a missing person matching her description?"

"After we get her to the hospital and stabilized. I'm grasping at straws with her, John. Why can't I get a good reading off of her?"

I chuckled at the thought of him not being able to deduce much about her. When the ambulance finally arrived, I got in the back with the girl and Sherlock hailed a cab to follow. Once we arrived at S. Bart's I waited with Sherlock for the doctor to come and tell us the news.

"She's stable, but weak. We're keeping her in a medically-induced coma until her vitals are strong enough. After that she'll be allowed to come out of the coma on her own. Once she's awake, you can visit her. Are either of you related?"

"No. We met her near our flat before she fainted. Will she be alright?" I was surprised at how concerned I was over a girl I'd just met.

The doctor shrugged "It's hard to tell. What with the malnourishment and dehydration, who knows what she'll be like."

Sherlock walked into the room and looked at her. When I saw how thin and frail she looked in the hospital gown surrounded by machines monitoring her life signs, I pitied her. I studied her face with its tan complexion, and her dark red hair. Sherlock looked at me and I at him, and I knew what he was thinking. We were going to solve the mystery that this young lady was.


	4. Awake

When I opened my eyes, all I could see were fuzzy images of various shades of white against a paler white except for a tan blur on one side of me and a dark blur on the other. As my eyes began to focus, I saw that the two colored patches were the men i had met just before I blacked out. I tried to sit up, and the shorter one saw me moving. He came over and gently pushed me back down, saying "Rest. I'm surprised to see you wake up so soon. Hey, Sherlock." he reached over and shook the arm of the other man who'd been sleeping with his head on my bed. "She's awake."

The man, Sherlock, sat up so fast I thought he'd give himself whiplash. "What? Oh, it's you, John."

"She's awake." John said, nodding his head towards me.

"She's right here, you know." I interrupted, crossly. I hated getting up, so I wasn't very pleasant about it.

John smiled "Sorry. What's your name?'

I grimaced at the thought of trying to remember my name. So I told him the truth. "I don't know. according to my baba I was left on his front porch in a basket with a note saying that my dad was British, and my mom was an American exchange student. I have an old picture of them in my bag, but the print's a bit grainy. His initials were JHW and hers were NE. So my baba named me Joanna Hailey Wilkes."

"So what was your dad like?"

"Baba means grandfather, John. Get it right." Sherlock snapped at John. I giggled seeing him act like that over vocabulary.

"Baba was a lifetime bachelor. He raised me according to the ten commandments and the Torah, even though neither of us were Jewish."

"How old are you?" Sherlock asked me abruptly.

"I turn twenty on the fifteenth of December. At least, that's the day that baba found me on his steps."

"So what was a nineteen year-old doing lost in London, since you seem to be fairly intelligent, I won't say that it was because of stupidity."

I sighed, hoping that I'd be able to skip that question. "I was forced to come here. I was halfway through with my test when I blacked out after meeting you."

"Why were you being tested?" John asked her curiously.

"Because if I could live for a month on the streets I would have been given my assignment and completed it before going home with enough money to care for me and my baba until he died of old age." I replied.

"Who was the man that was going to employ you?" Sherlock asked.

"A man I pray you never meet." I replied, shuddering at the thought of him.

"I need a name in order to protect you." Sherlock squeezed my hand in comfort.

"If I tell you, will you tell me how long I was out?"

"Agreed. John?"

John shifted uncomfortably in his chair "You were out for three months in a medically-induced coma. You were in really bad shape when we brought you in."

I felt something akin to lead in my stomach as I realized what had happened. I whispered my boss's name "Moriarty."

John looked at Sherlock as he asked me one last question "What was your assignment to be?"

"To find and break a man named Sherlock Holmes."


	5. Family

"And how were you going to do that?" Sherlock asked.

I shrugged. "I honestly don't know. But all that I do know is that my baba is probably worried sick about me."

"Would you like for me out find out for you?"

I sat in silence, then said "No. He's safer not knowing. But if you could hand me my bag, I'd like to see if you could help me locate either my mother or father. I seem to look a lot like my mother, but baba said that I probably have my father's heart."

John handed me my bag, and I rummaged through it for a few minutes before pulling out an envelope. I handed it to Sherlock, and laid back exhausted. I wanted to see if my hair had stayed red, or if I was back to being a dirty-blond. I picked up a strand, and saw that it was once again dirty blond, much to my disappointment.

Both John and I looked over to Sherlock, and he held in his hand the photograph. "Is there anything you can tell me?" I was filled with so much hope, and was also worried that there wouldn't be any leads based on the picture.

"John, can you identify the two individuals in this picture?" Sherlock handed the picture to him, and began looking at my face carefully, as if he was searching for answers.

John gasped when he saw the picture, and I didn't know what to think.

* * *

**John's POV:**

When Sherlock handed me the picture, I certainly did not expect to find myself from my University days and Natasha Erickson. We'd dated the last few weeks of the semester before she returned to America to complete her schooling as a journalist. We'd taken it the day before she went home. I looked at Joanna, and I looked at Natasha's face in the picture. She had her eyes, and a little of her facial structure. I looked over to Sherlock, and I saw him making a similar conclusion to mine. I placed the photo back into its envelope, and placed it on the table next to Joanna.

I stood up "Sherlock, a moment please?" I walked out into the hall and sat on one of the benches. "Apparently I have a daughter."

"She shares more of your looks than her mother's." Sherlock said in a neutral voice.

I looked up at his face, and saw it carefully bland, not showing any emotions. "Should we tell her? I mean, Moriarty is trying to use her to break you."

He smiled, and it was his kind, and honest smile. "I think I can risk my flat-mate's daughter trying to break me."

We both laughed quietly before walking back into my daughter's room. My daughter. It took me a few minutes to finally understand what that meant to me.

* * *

"So... did you find what you needed to?" I asked, hoping that they'd help me find my parents.

John hugged me before scooting his chair closer to my bed. "You have some impressive luck, Joanna. Of all the people to faint in front of, you had to do it in front of me." he chuckled, as he wiped a tear from his eye. "I don't know how you managed to do it, but you accidentally found your dad on your own."

I sat back, stunned. Who? "What?"

Sherlock laughed for a minute, and when he could speak he said "You, my dear, are my flatmate's daughter. Isn't that right, John?"

I looked at him, and studied his face for a minute. "Well, at least I now know where I get my hair." I snorted. "So, What's my father's full name?"

"John Hamish Watson. I don't mind if you'd like to keep the name your baba gave you." he smiled shyly, and it made him seem so endearing to me, and it made me feel like I was home again.

I smiled shyly, and I could tell that I was blushing "Hi, Dad. Can I have another hug?" I asked, hoping to give him a hug. He chuckled, and I was enveloped in a strong, warm hug that made me feel safe and happy. "I love you, Dad." I whispered. I hugged him back, noticing the sweater that he wore was thick and fuzzy, giving him the feeling of being a giant teddybear.

He squeezed me a little bit tighter, and whispered back "I love you too."

When we let go of each other, I scooted over, and patted my bed. "You can sit here, Dad. I don't mind."

He chuckled again, which sounded like it came from deep in his chest, and it made me happy. He sat next to me, and I think we both grinned like idiots.

Sherlock stood up suddenly, and said "I'll take my leave now. You have a lot to talk about together. I'm just going to make arrangements with Mrs. Hudson to have another room made up for the newest member of the flat." Once he left the room, I laughed for the first time since I had been abducted by Moriarty, and I smiled, knowing that my Dad would be there for me.


End file.
